Google One officially launches with cheaper storage plans

Matthew Hunt |Saturday, August 18, 2018

WhatsApp backups will no longer count against Google Drive storage

In simpler terms, users of WhatsApp will enjoy free backup on Google Drive from now on. It "will come into effect for all users on 12 November 2018, although some users may see the quota benefits earlier". A letter sent out by Googlerevealed that from now on, users who back up their WhatsApp chat or media backup on Google Drive wouldn't have to be anxious about WhatsApp backup occupying a large amount of storage in their Drive. Any backups that haven't been refreshed for a year will be automatically deleted from Google Drive, so make sure you update them regularly. One does not replace Drive, but rather allows for space across all the entirety of Google's ecosystem.

Tap Back up to Google Drive and select a backup frequency other than Never. Your most important memories and files are stored safely in the cloud and available on all your devices. Obviously, you'll need a Google account activated on your smartphone with Google Play services installed.

There used to be a storage limit but going forward the storage for your backups will now be unlimited. Notably, apart from updating its FAQ page, WhatsApp has started sending emails to users to inform them about the fresh change.

Perhaps the biggest perk of subscribing with Google's cloud service is that you can share your online storage with up to five family members who also have Google accounts. Therefore, it is recommended to manually back up the date before November 12. Speaking of creating a backup, here is how it's done: WhatsApp / Menu / Settings / Chats / Chat backup / Back up to Google Drive. Now tap the Back up button.

Let's say you sign up for the $2/month option.

Apple already offers 2TG of data for $9.99 a month, just like the one Google now has.